dogdoc

Also hate to hear that. Send him a PM on FB and tell him to come over and say hi.

Did some more persimmon grafting this year. Try to convert as many non fruit bearing male trees to fruit bearing female trees. Two weeks after grafting Month after grafting

I built me a little water hole near my main plot and it has been getting a lot of action.

Plenty of rain in Oklahoma this year. We are officially out of the 6 year drought as of May. I received over 20" of rain in the month of May and 34" for the year. Of course the plots and trees have exploded with growth. I did a little experiment this year and planted some Ag beans next to my Eagle Beans just to see how they compare with forage and pod production. So far the Eagles are putting on my forage but I am still impressed with the Ag beans. Eagle Beans. Up to the chest of the doe. Ag Beans as you can tell are not putting on the same amount of forage but still providing some great food. I think the bucks are trying to avoid ticks and bedding in the beans.

That is some really nice looking dark soil. Always fun to turn dirt but don't know if it is absolutely necessary for deep tillage for food plots. The less tilling you do the healthier you soil will be. If the ground hasn't been worked up before and worried about compaction then a plot does a good job. Wish I had that beautiful soil. good luck todd

good deal. Glad you are getting such a great survival rate. The bare roots can have some good size root systems. I try to dig a deeper wider hole so none of the roots are bent. I've planted a lot of potted trees also and they almost always have circled roots so I have to cut the roots to help prevent root circling. I've had just as much luck with bare roots as I have the potted trees.

Great story---awesome bird!!! congrats todd

Oklahoma Youth Turkey Season opened today--unfortunately I had to work till noon---so as soon as I got home Mollyann was dressed in camo and ready to go. Loaded up all the turkey gear and headed to the 160. The turkeys have been hanging in the boggy bottom plot so we headed that way and found a nice big pecan tree to sit up against. Place the decoy about 20 yards away and started calling. We sat and called for about 30 minutes with no gobbling so we decided to head to another spot. As I got up and then looked to my right I see 3 birds coming our way--only 100 yards away. I quickly get back to the tree and get Mollyann all set up again and in about 5 minutes we had 3 birds not 5 yards in front of us----and about 30 seconds later Mollyann has her 2nd turkey in as many years. todd

looks good! Those 3 apples will pollinate each other just fine Keiffer pears are self fertile but do better with more than one tree. I'd put some old hay around as mulch to help keep that soil moist. todd

what kind of trees did you get? As you can see I go to great lengths to protect my trees at the farm---caging and aluminum window screen stapled around the base. Bucks love to rub on fruit trees and deer will devour the new tender shoots of apple and pear trees. Not so much with persimmons. I also like to put some landscape fabric around the base to hold in moisture and keep the weeds from competing with the tree. Mulching with some old moldy has really helps also.

sorry! Should have just gone to Colorado--much safer. I know it hits harder when you know the person. Going to Mexico and messing with drugs is high risk--if that is what was going on. I agree with Martin!

Thanks Okstate! Lots of fun seeing a plan come together. Still a lot of work to do though. it is never ending---which is a good thing for me.

lol, The old neighbor (who just passed away last month in his 90's) use to farm my land. He named that bottom "boggy bottom" bc it liked to hold water. The field use to be in alfalfa many many years ago but he eventually turned it into a fescue field:hammer1: for cattle hay. I guess a lot easier to maintain than alfalfa. Now I am trying my hardest to get rid of as much fescue as possible.

Hired a dozer to come out and enlarge my duck pond and dig it deeper. Once full it will be a little over 4 acres and a good 2 to 3 feet deeper. I know shallow water is better for ducks but with the 5 year drought the shallow water strategy hasn't worked out. Finished it up on Monday so I went out yesterday in a soft rain and broadcasted a couple hundred pounds of rye to get something germinated as fast as possible to help prevent any erosion and soil run off back into the pond.

Planted 3 pear trees on the edge of the plot. Protected from deer and rabbits. Weed fabric and hay mulch to give the trees the best chance of survival. Four more apple trees. Two goldrush and 2 Liberty. One of each on my 2 main plots. Should we worry about soil health--heck ya!! Healthy soil results in healthy plants which results in more nutrients going to the critters. Now this is a beautiful site. You got worms??? If so then you probably have some good OM in your soil.

Haven't done an update in forever it seems like. Spring has arrived--actually a little too early which is a little risky for the fruit trees. Any freeze now will result in another loss of my native plums and pear trees as they are starting to bud out. Fall food plots are doing awesome. We have been getting some decent moisture (no pond fillers) but at least some moisture. My boggy bottom 2 acre plot is coming along nicely. The rye and wheat are out of winter dormancy and the crimson clover is in overdrive. I frost seeded some red clover in this plot about 3 weeks ago. No spring planting on this plot. I am hoping the clover will keep me going all summer and provided a great cover crop for next falls planting. And the deer are enjoying the tender plants

Spring is definitely here in Ok. Temps in the 60 and 70's. Bradford pears all in bloom. Allergies already kicking in. It is a little early even for Ok. However, the deer are enjoying the warm up as it has kicked the fall food plots into their late winter mode and producing lots of forage. Most of the bucks are still holding onto their horns I have only found 1 little shed so far

Since soybeans are a warm season annual I wouldn't plant any grains such as rye or wheat with them. If you use a round up ready variety then you defeat that with using the grain. There are so many variety of soybeans I promise you there is one that will handle you conditions. What I love about soybeans is if you plant enough in the spring that they can handle the pressure then in the winter the deer will also feed on the pods. Probably the best draw around in really cold conditions. The actual soybean pods provide so much nutrition and especially carbohydrates and protein during the really stressful times. Google " Realworld soybeans"---they are a more northern bred soybeans that is a great forage and pod production bean. Another plus with soybeans is that when the leafs start to yellow you can broadcast in the beans winter rye, wheat, and brassicas directly in the beans. All three will germinate great and provided even more nutrition through the winter months. It's almost like having a 365 day food plot---or at least a consistent food plot when it is needed most. I would also get some lime down to get that pH above 6. good luck todd

don't know if the vote is still going on but congrats to all. Some mighty fine deer taken and some great pics. My vote goes to Ruth. Beautiful picture and nice job on getting your buck positioned in a nice pose.

what a cool catch. Did you think about throwing it back?? That will make an awesome mount. todd

that's a tough job but you are one tough dude!

gotta love knocking those huge birds out of the sky. concentrate on that head. Our eyes get fooled into looking at the movement and most of the time we end up shooting behind the bird. It is deceiving how fast they are really flying bc they are so big. Field hunting can be a little tough also--especially in an open field. Layout blinds help but those smart birds have learned what a layout blind looks like. Ruth--look into getting a goose flag. I have found it to be the best way to get geese to finish. Better than calling in my opinion. they can see that flag from a long way out. congrats on the birds. Just wish they tasted a little better. todd

I'm so sorry Lewis. Prayers from Oklahoma. todd

Ducks are just starting to filter down to Oklahoma in some numbers. I had a very tough first season and the weather has been so mild majority of the ducks are still hanging out in Nebraska and Kansas. Hopefully this cold front moving down will push them down to Okie land. However, I did have a decent hunt with Belle yesterday morning.

Merry Christmas-----Hope all my RT buddies have a great day with friends and family. todd